Kenneth W. McDonald was educated in the public schools at
Pierce and graduated from the high school in 1892, then read
law under a local attorney and completed his course in the
Boston Law School. He entered upon the practice of his
profession at Pierce, where he remained until 1913, a period
of seven years, during which time he served Pierce county in
the office of deputy county attorney for one year. At fiirst
(sic) Mr. McDonald was alone in his practice at Bridgeport
but subsequently admitted his brother-in-law, George W.
Irwin, to a partnership. The firm is considered a very
strong one and handles a large percentage of the important
court business. In 1914, Mr. McDonald was elected county
attorney on the Democratic ticket, was re-elected in 1916
and again in 1918.
At Creighton, Nebraska, in March, 1913,
Mr. McDonald was united in marriage with Miss Ethel G.
Irwin, who was born at Creighton. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald have
an adopted daughter, Margaret Elaine. They are members of
the Episcopal church. Mr. McDonald is an advanced Scottish
Rite Mason. He is a man of high personal character, has many
times proved the sincerity of his citizenship in advocating
worthy enterprises at Bridgeport, and during periods of
great general concern and national stress, he has heartily
cooperated with his fellow citizens in bearing the
burdens.

MILES J. MARYOTT has achieved high
reputation as an artist and taxidermist and as a painter his
technical skill is remarkable because his talent as an
artist has been developed without instruction in either
coloring and designing. Like Charles Russell and other
celebrated western artists, he is entirely self taught, and
his creative genius has found expression in many beautiful
canvasses that have received the highest of critical
commendation. The career of this native son of Nebraska may
well be said to have been far aside from the beaten path and
he had added to his laurels a remarkable record as marksman
and as a baseball player. He and his widowed mother now
reside in an attractive home at Oshkosh, Garden county, and
it is gratifying to be able to give in this publication a
brief review of his career. Mr. Maryott was born at Tekamah,
Burt county, Nebraska, September 4, 1873, a son of Asahel K.
and Emily (Herrick) Maryott. The former was born in
Brookfield, New York and the latter in Chautaugque, New York
in 1842. Their respective parents were early pioneer
settlers at Hustisford, Wisconsin. Ashel K. Maryott began to
farm in his native state, and came to Nebraska in 1865,
before the admission of the territory to the Union. He was
one of the pioneers of Burt county, where he took up a
homestead, near the present village of Decatur, where he
developed a productive farm. He continued his activities as
an agriculturist and stock grower until 1884, when he sold
his farm and removed to the vicinity of Cozad, Dawson
county, where he secured a tract of land and continued
farming on a more extensive scale, There he passed the
residue of his life as his death having occurred in 1907.
His political allegiance was given to the Republican party.
His marriage was solemnized in Wisconsin, and his widow now
lives at Oshkosh at the age of seventy-eight. They became
the parents of five sons and four daughter, of whom the
subject of this review was the seventh in order of
birth.
Miles J. Maryott was educated in the
public schools of Cozad, Dawson county. He early developed
marked skill in connection with the American "national
game," and in baseball outside of Nebraska was made when he
entered professional baseball activities, as a member of the
team of Mankota, Minnesota. He played with this team in the
seasons of 1895 and 1896, was with the Galesburg, Illinois,
team for the ensuing season, and the Fort Collins, Colorado,
team claimed him as a member for the season of 1898. For the
three following years he played with the Kearney, Nebraska
team, and for the first half of the season of 1902, was with
the Keokuk team, of the Iowa state league, the remainder of
that season he served with the Sioux City team, in the
Western League. He terminated his professional career in
baseball with the Wichita team, (Kansas), of the Western
Association.
In the meantime Mr. Maryott had not
neglected his talent as an artist, and he has made a
specialty of pictures of animals and birds, his work being
principally in oils and many fine paintings stand evidences
of his talent. He is conceded to be one of the best artists
in the state and that in spite of the fact that he never has
taken a. single lesson in painting. The same condition holds
good in connection with his skill as a taxidermist, in which
field of work he has been licensed both by the United States
government and the state of Nebraska. He has one of the
finest collections of native birds in Nebraska, besides
which he has assembled one of the largest and most
interesting collections of Indian relics to be found in the
state. His, prowess as a marksman led to

444

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

his being retained in the service of the Peters Cartridge
Company in 1907, in the capacity of expert marksman. In june
(sic) of that year, in a contest held in the city of
Chicago, Mr. Maryott tied for first place in the grand
American handicap, and he has the reputation of being one of
the foremost all-round marksmen in the world.
Mr. Maryott has made the passing years
bear to him an interesting and varied tribute, and he has
maintained his home at Oshkosh since 1909. Here he is the
devoted companion of his loved and venerable mother, and
here he finds ample demands upon his time and attention in
connection with his art and taxidermic work. He took four
hundred and eighty acres of land under the provisions of the
Kinkaid law, and has proved his title to this property, upon
which he has made improvements that mark it as a valuable
Garden county farm. In politics he supports the Republican
party.

WILLIAM L. LAW, who is now serving his
second term as county commissioner of Garden county,
established his residence here when the county was still a
part of Deuel county, and has developed and improved one of
the valuable farms of four hundred and eighty acres which is
well situated twelve miles north of Oshkosh, the county
seat. Here Mr. Law has secure vantage ground as one of the
enterprising agriculturists and stock-growers of the county
and the confidence in which he is held by the community is
demonstrated by the office to which he was elected. As
county commissioner he has advocated and supported measures
that have furthered the civic and material welfare of the
county, and he is known as a wide awake and progressive
business man.
William L. Law was born in Van Buren
county, Iowa, on December 21, 1876, the second in order of
birth in a family of three sons, his elder brother, Charles
E., and his younger brother, John M., both being residents
of Seattle, Washington, the mother having maintained her
home at Seattle and Sumas, that state, since 1899. Mr. Law
is a son of Lorenzo and Eliza (Meredith) Law, both were born
in Iowa, where the respective families settled in the
pioneer days. The father prepared himself for the medical.
profession, and after his graduation from a medical college
engaged in practice in Iowa until he removed with his family
to Long Pine, Brown county, Nebraska, where he conducted a
drug store until the time of his death, which occurred when
he was fifty-one years of age. Dr. Law was a man of sterling
character and high intellectuality and he was successful in
the exacting work of his profession, having continued in
active practice after engaging in the drug business at Long
Pine. He was a Democrat in politics.
William L. Law was educated in the public
schools of Iowa and Frontier county, Nebraska, and began his
career by engaging in farm enterprise, to which he gave his
attention for a period of about eight years. For the ensuing
two years he was engaged in the livery business at
Lexington, Dawson county, and he then removed to Deuel
county and took up a homestead in what is now Garden county.
On this homestead, to the area of which he has since added,
he has continued his vigorous activities as an.
agriculturist and stock-grower and his able management has
brought him success. He has made the best of improvements on
his farm property. Mr. Law is one of the influential men of
his community, has served thirteen years as school director
of his district and is serving at the present time winter of
1919-20--his second term as a member of the board of county
commissioners. Well fortified in his views concerning
economic and governmental policies, he gives his political
allegiance to the Republican party and is influential in its
local councils in his county.
In October, 1898, Mr. Law wedded Miss
Mamie A. Sprague, who was born at Danville, Illinois, and
who was a girl at the time of the family removal to Frontier
county, Nebraska, where she was reared and educated, her
father, John T. Sprague, a native of Indiana, having been a
pioneer in Frontier county, where he took up and improved a
homestead and where he continued his farm enterprise until
1909, since which year he has lived retired at Oshkosh,
Garden county. Mr. and Mrs. Law have five sons and five
daughters: Connie, Arthur, Lola, Sydney, Vera, Clyde, Rex,
Ralph, Virginia, Vivian.

WILLIAM F. GUMAER is a representative of
one of the prominent and influential families of Garden
county and the name which he bears has been most closely
identified with the development and upbuilding of this
section of Nebraska, as may be seen by reference to the
sketches concerning his elder brothers, Judge Alfred W.
Gumaer and Henry G. Gumaer, on other pages of this
publication. Mr. Gumaer has been actively identified with
industrial and business interests in Garden county and is
now one of the principal stockholders and active executives
of the Oshkosh Mercantile Company, which conducts an
extensive and